Pillow system

ABSTRACT

Pillow systems including a head/neck pillow and a bag for carrying the pillow are disclosed herein.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/534,155, filed Jan. 3, 2004, which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The patent or application file contains at least one drawing executed in color. Copies of this patent or patent application publication with color drawings will be provided by the Office upon request and payment of the necessary fee.

FIGS. 1-8 show examples of embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention will now be described with respect to various embodiments. The following description provides specific details for a thorough understanding of, and enabling description for, these embodiments of the invention. However, one skilled in the art will understand that the invention may be practiced without these details. In other instances, well-known structures and functions have not been shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the description of the embodiments of the invention.

The terminology used in the description presented below is intended to be interpreted in its broadest reasonable manner, even though it is being used in conjunction with a detailed description of certain specific embodiments of the invention. Certain terms may even be emphasized below; however, any terminology intended to be interpreted in any restricted manner will be overtly and specifically defined as such in this Description section.

FIGS. 1-8 illustrate various embodiments of pillow systems in accordance with the invention. For example, FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate a pillow system including a head/neck pillow 110 and a bag 150 for carrying the pillow 110. Although the illustrated pillow 110 has a horseshoe-shaped or “C” shaped configuration, in other embodiments, the pillow may have other suitable configurations. The illustrated pillow 110 includes a fastener 120, such as a snap, to releasably secure the pillow 110 to the bag 150. When the pillow 110 is removed from the bag 150, the fastener 120 on the pillow 110 is engaged with a corresponding fastener on the bag 150 so that the pillow 110 remains securely attached to the bag 150 (with the bag 150 turned inside out). The bag 150 may then be stored within a pocket 130 in the pillow 110 by opening a zipper 132 along a medial seam of the pillow 110, inserting the bag 150 into the pocket 130, and then closing the zipper 132. Alternatively, the bag can be separate from and not attached to the pillow, and still be configured to receive and carry the pillow.

The bag 150 also includes a drawstring 160 to close the mouth of the bag 150 and a spring lock device to keep the bag closed to retain the pillow 110 within the bag 150. The drawstring 160 may be made of an elastic string or other suitable material. The elastic string extends to a bottom corner of the bag and is coupled to a hook 170 and ring attachment. Thus, the string may be released from the hook 170 if necessary. Alternatively, the bag may be closed with means other than the elastic string. The drawstring 160 forms a carrying strap for use in carrying the pillow system.

As shown best in FIGS. 5 and 7, in several embodiments of the invention, the pillow 110 may include a short piece of webbing 115 projecting from the pillow 110 and having the fastener 120. The bag 150 may also include a fastener to releasably engage the fastener 120 of the pillow 110. As such, the bag 150 can be attached to the pillow 110 after the bag 150 has been removed from the pocket in the pillow 110 to prevent misplacement or loss of the bag 150. While a snap clasp is shown, other attachment mechanisms may be employed, such as hook and loop (such as Velcro), hook and ring (similar to the hook and ring used with the cords of the bag), and so forth. Further, alternative embodiments may omit this and simply permanently secure the bag to the pillow.

A depiction of an embodiment of the invention may be found in co-pending U.S. Design patent application Ser. No. 29/196,741, filed Jan. 3, 2004, entitled, “Bag for a Head/Neck Pillow,” and assigned to the assignee of this application.

The pillow may be filled with buckwheat hulls. However, various filling materials may be employed. The user may change the amount of fill material in the pillow by accessing an interior of the pillow by way of the zipper. Fill materials and pillow configurations may be found in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/513,077, filed Oct. 20, 2003, entitled “Dual Filling Supporting Member, such as Pillow with Dual Density Filling.”

In one embodiment, the pillow is approximately twelve inches across and eleven inches down, while the bag is eleven inches across at the mouth and twelve inches deep. Of course, while the pillow system is shown as employing a horseshoe-shaped pillow and bag having a roughly square or circular configuration, alternate sizes and shapes may be employed.

In an alternative embodiment, the pillow does not employ a bag. Instead, it includes a loop having a manually releasable clasp, such as the snap clasp described above. Various other types of clasps may be employed, as described herein. As shown in the Drawings, the loop allows the pillow to be releasably secured to an object. Of course, the size of the loop may be increased or decreased from that shown. In this embodiment, the pillow is approximately ten inches across and seven inches down. Further, the pillow of this embodiment is particularly stretchy or resilient, and thus may be stretchy or conformed to a user's needs. Any material that provides sufficient stretchability may be employed.

An alternative embodiment of such a loop clasp and associated pillow may be found in co-pending U.S. Design patent application Ser. No. 29/196,740, filed Jan. 3, 2004, entitled “Head/Neck Pillow,” and assigned to the assignee of this application.

Overall, while the bag and pillow (outer portion) are described as being fabricated typically made of fabric, any flexible sheet material may be used. While the zippers are shown in certain locations, the zippers may in fact be placed at any location on the pillow. Additionally, or alternatively, rather than zippers, Velcro closures, buttons, or other known, like closure features may be employed. Further, the pillow may be sewn closed, with no adjustment possible.

Words in the above Description using the singular or plural number may also include the plural or singular number, respectively. Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below” and words of similar import, when used in this application, shall refer to this application as a whole and not to any particular portions of this application. When the claims use the word “or” in reference to a list of two or more items, that word covers all of the following interpretations of the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list, and any combination of the items in the list.

The above detailed descriptions of embodiments of the invention are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed above. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the invention are described above for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the invention, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. For example, although roughly “C” shaped pillows are shown, various other shapes are possible.

The teachings of the invention provided herein can be applied to other systems, not necessarily the system described herein. These and other changes can be made to the invention in light of the detailed description. The elements and acts of the various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments.

Any above patents and applications and other references, including any that may be listed in accompanying filing papers, are incorporated herein by reference. Aspects of the invention can be modified, if necessary, to employ the systems, functions, and concepts of the various references described above to provide yet further embodiments of the invention.

These and other changes can be made to the invention in light of the above detailed description. While the above description details certain embodiments of the invention and describes the best mode contemplated, no matter how detailed the above appears in text, the invention can be practiced in many ways. Details of the pillow system may vary considerably in its implementation details, while still being encompassed by the invention disclosed herein. As noted above, particular terminology used when describing certain features or aspects of the invention should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being re-defined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics, features, or aspects of the invention with which that terminology is associated. 

1. A pillow system, comprising: a head/neck pillow; and a carrying bag removably attached to the head/neck pillow.
 2. The pillow system of claim 1 wherein the bag is sized to receive the head/neck pillow.
 3. The pillow system of claim 1 wherein: the head/neck pillow includes a strap with a first fastener; and the bag includes a second fastener configured to releasably engage the first fastener for attaching the bag to the head/neck pillow.
 4. The pillow system of claim 1 wherein: the head/neck pillow includes a first snap portion; and the bag includes a second snap portion configured to releasably engage the first snap portion for attaching the bag to the head/neck pillow.
 5. The pillow system of claim 1 wherein the head/neck pillow has a “C” shaped configuration.
 6. The pillow system of claim 1 wherein the head/neck pillow includes a pocket for receiving and storing the bag and a closing device for selectively closing the pocket.
 7. The pillow system of claim 1 wherein the head/neck pillow includes a pocket for receiving and storing the bag and a zipper for selectively closing the pocket.
 8. The pillow system of claim 1 wherein the bag includes a carrying strap.
 9. A pillow system, comprising: a pillow having a pocket; and a bag removably attached to the pillow for receiving and carrying the pillow, wherein the pocket in the pillow is sized to receive and stow the bag when the bag is not carrying the pillow.
 10. The pillow system of claim 9 wherein the pillow further includes a zipper to selectively close the pocket.
 11. A pillow system, comprising: a pillow; and a bag removably attached to the pillow for receiving and carrying the pillow, the bag including a carrying strap.
 12. The pillow system of claim 11 wherein the strap includes a drawstring configured to close the bag. 